Longtail
by MeanRunt
Summary: Tyleet and Venka find a strange creature roaming around the holt


All the Elfquest characters are the property of Richard and Wendy Pini and are copyrighted by WaRP Graphics. No copyright infringement is intended or should be implied. All other characters are the property of Barb & Pat Roman and are copyrighted by Par/59 Enterprises.

While this is set in the Elfquest universe, it is not necessary to be familiar with that series to enjoy this piece. We believe it will stand on its own

****

Elfquest

Longtails

^v^v^v^v^

Mother moon had made her appearance in the night sky. Daughter moon would soon follow. It was a special time in the holt, the time for dreamberries and stories. A small orange striped longtail rubbed its length against Skywise's leg and purred softly. Absently, Skywise leaned down and stroked the animal's fur. 

"I know we've been gone a long time, but I don't remember there being longtails in the holt when we left in the Palace." He said to no one in particular. "Where did they come from and how did they become such a part of the tribe?"

"It's my fault, I'm afraid." Tyleet said. " Well, mine and Venka's. Have some dreamberries and I'll explain." She took a handful of berries and passed the bowl to Skywise.

"You see, Venka and I were out with Strongbow, learning to follow a trail. Of course, being just 5 and 6 cycles-of-seasons, we were doing everything but following the trail. That's how we came upon the longtails ... "

^v^v^v^v^

"Venka. Look at these pretty flowers. Maybe we should pick some to take home to mother." Tyleet said. 

** TYLEET! VENKA! Get back here! Now! ** Strongbow sent.

"Yes, Strongbow."

** And send, don't speak. You'll scare the animals. **

"Yes Strongbow." 

** SEND!!! **

** Yes, Strongbow. **

Suddenly, Bundles, Tyleet's young wolf friend, began barking and took off through the thicket.

** What's Bundles got? ** Venka sent.

** I don't know. Let's follow and find out. **

** We've got to stay here. If we don't, Strongbow will bevery mad at us. **

** But if Bundles is on the trail of a fat ravvit, and we catch it, then we will have our first kill, and then Strongbow will be very proud of us. **

** Well, Maybe we ... Tyleet! Wait for me! **

The two elf cubs took off after Bundles. When they caught him, he was furiously digging at the mouth of a small den.

"You were right, He has caught a ravvit. Strongbow will be so proud of us" Venka said dropping to her knees and digging with Bundles.

** Shouldn't we be sending? **

"Don't worry, we're far enough away from Strongbow that he can't hear us. If he comes close, we'll start sending again, Besides, sending makes my head hurt." 

Tyleet joined her friend and the young wolf and they all began pushing dirt from the hole. Soon the opening was large enough for Tyleet to put her head and one arm inside. "I don't know what they are, but they aren't ravvits." She said. "But whatever they are, there's five of them and they're all dead."

Just then, one of the creatures made a faint sound and moved slightly.

"Wait! One of them is alive!" Tyleet backed out of the den holding a small black and white ball of fur, no bigger than one of the sunfruit that Shenshen had brought from the Sun Village. Its eyes were still sealed and its tiny limbs were not yet fully developed. It was obvious even to the girls that it was a newborn. It wiggled weakly in her hand.

"What'll we do with it?"

"I dunno."

"Maybe we should take it back to the holt and have Shenshen look at it. If we leave it here, it might die."

** What might die? ** Strongbow sent.

In their fascination with the tiny creature, the girls had not heard Strongbow approach. Of course, Strongbow moved so silently, that even if they had not been preoccupied, they probably would not have heard him.

"This" Tyleet said, holding up the creature for Strongbow to see. "Do you know what it is?"

** No, I don't know what it is, and you had better put it back before its mother returns. You already have your scent on it and the mother might not like that. **

"I don't think the mother will be coming back." Venka said. She had walked down the trail a few lengths while Strongbow was sending. She pointed to a partially decomposed female adult creature. "I think that's the mother."

"Now we got to take it ... " Tyleet turne1d the baby over and looked between its hind legs. " ... him ... with us. If we leave it ... him ... here he'll die, just like his brothers and sisters."

Strongbow only sighed heavily and looked toward the sky.

^v^v^v^v^

Back at the holt, the new find was causing a stir among the tribe, especially the younger members. No one seemed to quite know what he was, although the consensus seemed to be that he was some unknown species of whitestripe. Everyone agreed he certainly smelled bad enough to be one.

Shenshen finally solved the mystery. "Ooh! A longtail kitling! How precious!" She exclaimed as the girls showed him to her. "It ... "

"HE" Tyleet corrected.

" ... He can't be more than an eight-of-days old." She stuck her finger in the kitling's mouth and he suckled furiously. "And he's hungry, too. Now, we need a wolf who's nursing."

Timmain mother-wolf put her paws on Shenshen's lap and carefully picked the kitling in her mouth. She headed to Tailchaser and placed the kit with Tailchaser's own cubs. After a few moments, he found a teat and began nursing, purring contentedly. Tailchaser looked at Timmain with puzzlement. Timmain whimpered softly. Apparently that answered Tailchaser's question, for she began to lick the kitling as if he were one of her cubs. 

"Now that we know what he is, what is he good for?" Kahvi asked.

"We had longtails at the Sun Village." Shenshen said. "They kept the chewers out of the grain stores and out of our dens. Besides, longtails are very affectionate."

"Hrrumph!" Kahvi growled. "Affection does not put food in your belly. There's not enough meat on a chewer to fill a hollow tooth, and they taste bad. In addition, there isn't enough fur on a chewer to make a sleeping fur or a warmrobe either, so if all they can do is catch chewers, what good are longtails?"

^v^v^v^v^

"Can we keep him, Father?" Tyleet asked a sleeping Redlance that night.

"Mumph" Redlance said and rolled over in his sleeping fur. A few moments later he tiptoed into Tyleet's chamber. 

"Keep what?"

"Patches." Tyleet said, pulling the drowsy longtail kitling from under her sleeping fur and holding him up for Redlance to see.

"Patches?"

"Well, his fur is sort of spotty and patchy, so Venka and I named him Patches. Can we keep him. Please?"

"You'll have to ask Cutter."

Tyleet was out of her sleeping fur and headed toward the opening of the den.

"In the morning, young cub." Nightfall said, shepherding her daughter back to bed. 

"But Father said ..."

"There will be plenty of time in the morning!"

^v^v^v^v^

In the morning, the girls found Cutter Blood of Ten Chiefs. Ina tree. In a funk. He was still brooding over the fact that Rayek had taken the High Ones Palace, as well as Leetah, his mate, Suntop and Ember, his children, and Skywise, his best friend, on a trip through time.

"Can we keep him, Cutter? Can we?" They pleaded, thrusting a now clean and fed Patches into Cutters lap. "We'll take good care of him and we'll keep him out of trouble, and we'll ..."

"You can keep him ... "

"Thank you Cutter, Thank you!" They threw themselves around the chief's neck and began hugging him.

" ... Until he is old enough to survive on his own. He is, after all, a wild creature. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Cutter." Venka said.

"Thank you Cutter." Tyleet added. "C'mon Patches, you have a home!" She said, nuzzling the kitling.

"But only until he's old enough to survive. Then he goes back to the forest." Cutter called after them, but by that time the pair were out of hearing and too busy with their new pet to pay any attention to him.

Over the next few eights-of-days, under the watchful eyes of Tyleet and Venka, and with more than a little help from Tailchaser, the little kitling grew. His eyes opened, and turned the color of emeralds. His legs developed strong and sure and fast. He also developed a strong sense of curiosity. About everything. His favorite game was to chase a piece of ravvit fur that Nightfall had tied to a string as the girls dragged it around the holt. Sooner than they wanted it to happen, Patches was three turns-of-moons old.

"Time to take him back to the forest." Cutter reminded them.

"No, not yet. He's not able to survive on his own." Tyleet said, holding Patches close to her.

"He's weaned. He can catch his own food. And he needs to be with his own kind." Cutter said. "I'll have Aroree take him back."

"No, We'll take him." Venka said solemnly. "After all, he is our responsibility."

"Very good. I am very proud of you both. I forgot just how grown up you two are. Someday you will be great Wolfriders. Strongbow will accompany you."

"Could I go instead?" Redlance said. "After all, Patches is almost a member of my family."

Cutter nodded and went back to being in a funk.

^v^v^v^v^

"Goodbye, Patches." Tyleet said as she placed the kitling on the forest floor.

"Be careful. Don't play with any whitestripes." Venka said, scratching his ears. The longtail purred loudly.

"And stay clear of humans"

"And don't get into any itchy-leaf patches."

"And eat all your vegetables."

"And be good."

"And remember everything Tailchaser taught you about hunting."

"Come on, girls, it's time to go." Redlance said after a while. They started back toward the holt with Patches following close on their heels. Finally, Redlance picked up a small rock and threw it at Patches, who ran off into the underbrush.

"We'll miss you." Tyleet said, barely holding back tears.

"We love you." Venka said between sobs.

"Father," Tyleet said "Are you crying too."

"I am not crying." Redlance said wiping his eyes. "I must have gotten some dust in my eyes."

^v^v^v^v^

That night the two girls were inconsolable. One would have thought that they had lost their best friend, for in fact that is exactly what had happened. Neither one slept. They both just sat outside Redlance's den and looked sadly into the forest. Morning was no different. Neither one ate much and neither seemed interested in doing anything except sitting in Tyleet's chamber and fondling Patches ravvit fur toy. 

It was about midday when a small black and white furball pushed his nose under Venka's arm. "PATCHES!" She screamed.

"You've come back!" Tyleet cried, scooping him into her arms.

For the rest of the afternoon, there was nothing but squeals of delight and the happy meowing of a kitling coming from Tyleet's chamber.

"We have to tell Cutter that Patches is back." Venka finally said.

"He's not going to be happy." Tyleet added. "He'll probably make us take him back."

"Let's get it over with. Patches, you stay here. And stay out of trouble." Venka admonished.

When they found Cutter, he was still in a tree. Still in a funk.

"We'd better not disturb him. It might be better if we just took Patches back to the woods by ourselves." Venka said.

"In the morning. He's pretty tired now." Tyleet added.

"Yeah. In the morning." Venka said as they returned to Tyleet's chamber. "Here ... Patches." She called, looking for the kitling, but Patches was nowhere to be found. "Now we are in deep trouble." She said. "We better go tell Cutter what happened."

When they reached the tree where Cutter had been sitting, there was a small knot of Wolfriders around the base. From the middle of the knot came the sounds of giggling and laughter.

"What's that sound?" Venka asked.

Pike said. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear that was Cutter laughing."

"Cutter? Laughing? That's either a good sign or he's been into too much overripe dreamberry wine." Treestump observed.

Venka pushed her way through the crowd. There, lying on his back, dissolved in laughter, was Cutter Blood Of Ten Chiefs. Patches was licking his face and massaging his ribcage with his front paws. Beside him was a dead chewer.

"Does this mean we can keep him?" Tyleet asked.

"We may have to." Treestump said. "This is the first time in many cycles-of-seasons that I've heard Cutter laughing. If for nothing else, that little longtail has my vote."

"Ha ha ... Ho ho ... Hee hee hee ... YES ... Hee he ...You may keep him ... Ha ha ha ..." Cutter said between spasms of laughter.

^v^v^v^v^

Keeping him was not easy. As little Patches grew, so did his curiosity. He was into everything. At the same time. Nothing was exempt. He honed his claws on Moonshade's leathers. He periodically raided Zhantee's food pantry for snacks. And once he even got into Pike's supply of dreamberries. His favorite person to torment however, was Kahvi. He took special delight in unraveling her bow strings and chewing the feathers off the end of her arrows

"Come here, you mangy, flea bitten chewer catcher!" Kahvi, brandishing a knife, yelled as she chased a terrified Patches through the holt. "When I get my hands on you, I'm going to carve you into little tiny pieces and feed you to the carrion eaters!"

"What did Patches do now?" Tyleet asked as Patches sought asylum between her legs.

"THIS!" Kahvi said holding out a rather pungent-smelling quiver. "He marked it! It was brand new! Now it's useless." 

"He didn't mean to. You've got to remember, he's just a kitling."

"And he won't grow any older if I have anything to say about it. You had best keep that sorry excuse of a longtail out of my sight or I'll string my next bow with his entrails."

Of course it wasn't all bad. True to Shenshen's prediction, Patches kept the holt free of chewers and other bothersome creatures. And he was very affectionate. He loved company, even when the company didn't want him. His favorite sleeping place was on Redlance's sleeping fur, right between Redlance and Nightfall.

"Look, Patches." Redlance said on more than one occasion as he put a protesting kitling out of the den. "Nightfall is my lifemate, not yours. I'm the only one who will share her." It did no good, for very the next night, the scene would be repeated. Finally, in desperation, Redlance simply pushed the kitling to the rear of the chamber and snuggled with Nightfall.

Then, as Patches neared the end of his first cycle-of-seasons, everything changed.

Strongbow, Pike, and Kahvi were foraging near the edge of the forest. Timmain was among the wolves and Patches had tagged along. He was not much use on a hunt, but like everything else the little longtail did, there was no denying him once he made up his mind. He simply ignored the protests and did just as he pleased. This day it pleased him to join the hunt. Definitely over Kahvi's protests.

Timmain, catching the scent and sight of a ravvit, took off. The wolf loved the chase almost as much as the kill. Patches, her second shadow, was right behind her. Before anyone realized what had happened, Timmain found herself entangled in a net. 

Three young humans jumped down from the tree branch where they had been hiding. One of them approached Timmain.

"Ah, The white goddess wolf!" The youth said, rubbing his hands together in delight. "My father and his father before him has hunted you. Now you are mine!" He pulled his knife and stepped to the net. "Tonight your pelt will grace the wall of my house."

At that point, about 10 pounds of snarling, hissing black and white fangs and claws exploded onto the hunters. For a few moments, it was hard to tell what was happening as Patches fought more like a longtooth than a longtail. All that was heard was snarls and growls and the screams of the human as Patches ripped and bit him. Finally, the leader, covered in blood, turned and ran toward the human village. 

By this time, Timmain had worked her way out of the net and stood beside the longtail, her teeth bared. Slowly, the other two humans backed away and then turned and ran after their leader.

"HSSSST!" Patches screamed after them, back arched and bristle-tailed.

"GRRRRR!" Timmain added, her ears laid back.

** Well, did you see that! ** Pike sent from the security of the thicket where they had hidden.

** Timmain and Patches against three humans! ** Strongbow answered. ** And they beat them! **

** Maybe the little chewer catcher is good for something after all. ** Kahvi added.

The danger over, Patches sat down and calmly began to groom himself.

That evening, Patches was treated royally as the story spread throughout the holt, with Kahvi as the chief singer of Patches' praises. To hear her tell it, Patches took on a whole tribe of humans and drove them into the next land.

At the meal, Patches took the seat of honor, Cutter's lap, and enjoyed a whole side of ravvit prepared just for him. 

"After the meal, we must have a proper howl to welcome the newest member of the wolfriders ... Patches." Cutter declared. "Pike, get some of your dreamberries. Venka and Tyleet, would you care to join us? After all, Patches is yours."

Venka and Tyleet merely nodded, speechless. For a young cub to be invited to a howl was the highest possible honor. To be asked by Cutter himself was beyond dreaming.

Far into the night, the howls of the tribe could be heard throughout the forest, the H-O-O-W-W-L occasionally punctuated with an occasional M-E-E-O-O-O-W. Unfortunately, Venka and Tyleet were not among the howlers, for they had fallen fast asleep hours before.

Patches' reign as a hero was short lived. Not that Patches did anything to dispel it. At least not directly. A little over three eights-of-days after the howl, he disappeared. The holt was mobilized and an intense search was conducted for the missing longtail. It was to no avail, though. Patches was nowhere to be found in or around the holt. Finally, it was concluded that Patches had left on his own. 

Tyleet was both puzzled and a bit angry. "It's not fair." She grumbled to Kahvi, Shenshen and several of the other elves. "After all the nice things we did for him. I thought he liked it here."

"We thought that he was our friend." Venka added. "How could he leave like that?"

"I'm certain he did not leave because he didn't like it here." Shenshen said. "He probably wanted to be with his own kind for a while. He is at the age where he needs a female."

"What for?" Tyleet asked.

"Recognition, you puff head." Venka scolded. "Don't you know anything?"

"I didn't know longtails have Recognition."

"Where do you think baby longtails come from, swamp gas?"

"All creatures have Recognition. It's the way of living things." Cutter explained.

"Humans don't Recognize." Venka boasted.

"And how would you know?" Tyleet asked.

"Yes, Venka, I would like to know how you know." Kahvi asked.

"Pike told me."

^v^v^v^v^

Two more turns-of-moons went by before Patches' fate was learned. As mysteriously as Patches had left, so he returned. One day, Venka was lying half asleep on the warm ground in the middle of the compound when she heard a familiar purring sound and felt a rough tongue lick her face.

"Patches, you bad longtail." She said, scratching him behind the ears. "Where did you go? You had Tyleet and me worried sick."

In response, Patches padded to the edge of holt and returned a few moments later, followed by a smaller grey striped longtail.

"Oh, so now you've brought a friend." scolded Tyleet, who, along with several other elves, had joined her friend.

Kahvi placed her doubled fists on her hips. "One longtail I can handle, but two longtails ... "

"From the looks of the other one, in a few eight-of-days, there is going to be more than just two longtails." Shenshen explained. "That's a female. She looks like she's ready to whelp any time and I'll bet my best bow that Patches is the sire."

Kahvi only rolled her eyes skyward. "High Ones, help me." She pleaded softly.

^v^v^v^v^

" ... And that." Tyleet concluded, taking the last handful of dreamberries. "Is why there are so many longtails in the holt."

****

^v^v^v^v^

To Sarah & Bums

1978 - 1993

Merlin Aloysious Pussycat

1989 - 1997

Maximillian Fredrick Pussycat

1996 - 2003

Extraordinary longtails.


End file.
